Enugu – Efforts to ensure steady power supply to customers in parts of Enugu State is being sabotaged by unscrupulous elements, an official of Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) has said.
The official, Mr Eugene Aniowo, Principal Manager, Public Relations Unit, made the statement on Tuesday in Enugu in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
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He said that the company’s substations were being tampered with by unknown persons.
Aniowo identified Iva Valley in Enugu North LGA as one of the areas the company was encountering challenges in providing improved power supply to consumers.
He said that residents of the area, which is one of the most populated in Enugu do not readily, pay their electricity bills.
He said that the residents preferred to connect illegally from EEDC sub-stations.
The Principal Manager said that residents of Iva Valley last paid their electricity bills in 2014, adding that they owed EEDC over N1 million.
“Even at this we did not disconnect them. What they usually complain of is load shedding.
“We embark on load shedding to safeguard our equipment when it is overloaded because most of them do not pay, “he said.
Aniowo said that EEDC operated bulk billing system in the area.
“The residents requested for bulk bill from EEDC and that is what we operate with them but still they don’t pay.
“Imagine a group of people telling you that the bill they share in a month is N500. Many of them are not our customers because they go into our sub-stations to connect illegally, “ he said.
He appealed to the residents to co-operate with EEDC and pay their bills in order to prevent rationing of light in the area.
“People from Iva Valley have come protesting that they do not have light for over three months, but it is not the true position.
“They have light but their transformer is overloaded due to illegal connections.
“We don’t quarrel with our customers, but we are in business and you invest where you will make profit, “ Aniowo said. (NAN)